Scottish Executive

Birds

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Afro-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement introducing restrictions on the use of lead shot in wetlands has been fully implemented in Scotland.

Allan Wilson: In 1999 the UK Government formally ratified the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, which included an obligation to phase out the use of lead shot over wetlands. The Scottish Executive intends to legislate to restrict the use of lead shot over wetland areas in Scotland. It is intended that such legislation will be in place in advance of the open season, which begins in autumn 2004.

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to objective 5, target 9 of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning chapter of its Draft Budget 2004-05 , which quartile of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries Scotland's proportion of the workforce that are graduates falls into; what percentage of the workforce are graduates, and what the trend has been in respect of the number of graduates in the workforce in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mr Jim Wallace: 1. In 2001, Scotland was 17th in a 31-country sample with graduates making up 16% of the workforce (taken as 25- to 64-year-olds), placing it in the third quartile. 2001 is the most recent year this data is available for international comparisons.

  2. The level and proportion of the workforce (aged 16+) that are graduates are:

  

 Year
 Level
 %


 2000
 379,000
 18


 2001
 424,000
 18


 2002
 447,000
 19



  2002 is the most recent year this data is available covering the period March 2002 to February 2003.

Health Promotion

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether water is now available freely in every school and, if not, what the timetable is for introducing freely available fresh, chilled water in every school.

Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive is fully committed to improving the health and diet of young people. As part of this we aim to ensure that all schools take on the recommendations made by the Expert Panel on School Meals, one of which was that fresh, free drinking water should be made available in all schools. It is for local authorities to take forward this recommendation as they see fit, but the recommendations should be fully implemented in all primary and special schools by 2004 and secondary schools by 2006. We have different levels of monitoring set up and as well as collecting data on fresh water availability as part of the school census, we will be considering the issue of fresh water as part of the baseline and evaluation research.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the role of affordable housing in maintaining the viability of rural communities.

Ms Margaret Curran: Communities Scotland and its predecessor agency Scottish Homes have funded a number of local housing market studies of parts of rural Scotland. Scottish Homes and Highlands and Islands Enterprise jointly commissioned a study of housing and economic development in remote rural areas of Highlands and Islands and Communities Scotland current housing investment is informed by local housing system analysis. These studies consistently highlight the important role of affordable housing in providing opportunities for households and new households in rural areas to remain in their local area when they choose to do so. By remaining, such households contribute to the social and economic life of communities.

  The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a duty on local authorities to produce local housing strategies which set out how they will co-ordinate the provision of housing and housing related services to meet assessed demand.

Maternity Services

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive which measures it will take to ensure that regional planning, including full consultation with the public, trade unions and other relevant groups, takes place before recommendations to rationalise maternity services are put forward by NHS boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3775 on 25 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

NHS Funding

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds will be made available to NHS boards for 2004-05.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards have been given a unified budget of £5322.948 million, an average increase over the equivalent 2003-04 unified budget of 7.25%. Details of each NHS board’s allocation is as follows:

  

  
 Total
Unified
Budget
 Percentage
Increase in
Unified
Budget


 Health Board
 £ million
 %


 Argyll and Clyde
 458.784
 6.98


 Ayrshire and Arran
 409.651
 7.93


 Borders
 116.434
 8.34


 Dumfries and Galloway
 169.733
 8.03


 Fife
 352.536
 8.05


 Forth Valley
 280.005
 7.96


 Grampian
 481.741
 6.75


 Greater Glasgow
 1011.865
 6.75


 Highland
 239.241
 8.66


 Lanarkshire
 564.515
 7.40


 Lothian
 724.658
 6.75


 Orkney
 22.386
 6.75


 Shetland
 26.745
 6.75


 Tayside
 422.486
 6.93


 Western Isles
 42.168
 6.75


 Total
 5,322.948
 7.25



  In addition £642.882 million has been allocated to special health boards as follows:

  

  
 Allocation
 Percentage Increase


  
 £ million
 %


 NHS Education for Scotland
 215.670
 6.5


 Common Services Agency
 174.999
 6.5


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 128.095
 6.5


 NHS 24
 46.544
 6.5


 National Waiting Times Centre
 29.824
 6.5


 State Hospital
 25.710
 6.5


 NHS Health Scotland
 11.143
 6.5


 NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
 10.897
 6.5



  A further £26 million will be made available to health boards later in the year for change and innovation schemes. This amounts to an extra 0.5% on their above allocations. A copy of the allocation letter to NHS health boards has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30532).

Renewable Energy

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what public funding is available for research and development into underwater turbine electricity generation.

Lewis Macdonald: Public funding for marine renewables technologies, including tidal technologies, is available under the New and Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), administered by the DTI. Since 1999, the programme has committed in excess of £15 million to research and development in this area. Additional support of £5 million will be provided through a capital grants scheme in 2004-05, subject to a review of progress and state aids approval, together with a further £2 million ring fenced for wave and tidal technologies under the NREP in financial year 2004-05.

Renewable Energy

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the provision of an adequate electricity distribution grid to allow renewable energy resources of the Highlands and Islands to be fully utilised.

Lewis Macdonald: We are in regular contact with the UK Government, the regulator and the industry about the upgrades that will be necessary to the electricity network to ensure that the renewable resource in the Highlands and Islands is fully realised.

Schools

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Education and Young People has any plans to visit Holy Trinity Episcopal Primary School in Stirling.

Peter Peacock: I have no plans to visit the school.

Schools

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the decision by Stirling Council to close the denominational Holy Trinity Episcopal Primary School, whether there is any deadline by which ministers must either approve or reject the closure decision.

Peter Peacock: No such deadline is specified in statute. A decision will be reached as soon as is practicable, bearing in mind the need to give the proposal the careful consideration which it requires.